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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, February 6, 2013 · 16 Oakville relationship coach Carolyn Hidalgo is appearing on the Life Story Project documentary series tonight (Wednesday) to talk about living judgment free. The half-hour episode airs on OWN Canada (Oprah Winfrey Network) at 9:30 p.m. The episode is titled Loyalty and Betrayal. Life Story Project is hosted by relationship expert and author Andrea Syrtash and Toronto-based Dale Curd. They ask members of the general public to share their personal stories and examine the significance behind some key events in their lives. Hidalgo got her spot on the show after seeing Oprah Winfrey during her appearance in Toronto. At the show, the audience members were asked if they had a story to share for the new show. Hidalgo submitted her own personal story of judgment, was called by show producers and interviewed, and was later informed she would appear on the show. Hidalgo says many relationships suffer because of judgment. The top four things that destroy a marriage, she said, are 1) contempt or talking down to someone, which is a form of judgment; 2) criticism or finding fault, another form of judgment; 3) defensiveness or how one responds when they are criticized or judged; and 4) stonewalling, also known as the silent treatment in response to being criticized or judged. Once a person understands how to live without judgment, Hidalgo says, he or she can stop the conflict, guilt, find forgiveness and finally to be him or herself. "The only space you have the freedom to be yourself is when you create a space that is judgment free with yourself, and with others," Hidalgo said in an e-mail. Back-to-back Life Story Project episodes will air tonight, with the first at 9 p.m., followed by the second at 9:30 p.m., which includes Hidalgo. Carolyn Hidalgo on OWN show Artscene inger mackenzie / special to the beaver take it easy: Yo Mustafa, as Felix Ungar, (left) and Chris Reid, as Oscar Madison, are pictured rehearsing their lead roles in West End Studio Theatre's presentation of The Odd Couple, which opens tomorrow at The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. The Odd Couple is not just a mess By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Many people will be comfortably familiar with the story of a slovenly sportswriter and his neat-freak roommate in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. However, Georgetown actor Chris Reid wants people to know there is much more to the play than just a pairing of two men on the opposite ends of the cleanliness spectrum. Reid, who has been on the local community theatre scene for the past decade, is playing the slovenly Oscar Madison in West End Studio Theatre's production of The Odd Couple. Playing his roommate Felix Ungar is Yo Mustafa. The play opens tomorrow (Thursday) at The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. "He's a sloppy guy and the other guy's a clean guy, but it's beyond that. You don't want to resort to caricature, where people say he's sloppy, he's tossed stuff around and you've got your character because you've got so much more to him," the 43-year-old said. "You see him evolve. He's gone through the divorce. He's helping his friend through a divorce. There's other aspects of his character that are interesting." Reid is quite comfortable in his role as Oscar, as he admits to being a messy guy himself in his domestic life, while his wife is the clean one; though he hopes they're not at the extremes of Felix and Oscar. "My daughter, who has been helping in the production, when she looks at the living room after I mess it up, she looks at me and says, `Yeah, that looks about right,'" Reid joked. The play is about Oscar and his closest friend Felix. As Felix is going through his divorce and his wife kicks him out, Oscar takes him into his own home, but the pairing is as odd as it gets as each man has his peculiar foibles. Felix is depressed and points out his own and other people's quirks. His suggestions to others to fix their problems and mistakes begin to irritate his friend Oscar, who, shortly after allowing him to move in, is considering kicking him right back out. However, there is a good side to Oscar, Reid said, though the character describes himself as a selfish guy. He's a gambler and a careless spender. When he was still married, he was away from home a lot as he was a sports writer and his relationship with his wife and daughter deteriorated. "It really took bringing Felix into the picture to bring a new perspective," Reid said, adding the relationships Oscar has with those closest to him evolve for the better thanks to his friend. Reid knows there won't be many surprises for the audience as The Odd Couple has been performed on stage, television and in the movies. Despite all this, he said it is still a joy to watch. "The script is like a gift to everybody. It's so well written and there's a reason why people are still doing it. The play has been around for 50 years and people are still coming to see it," he said. To make the play work, however, he said the cast has to gel, which is what W.E.S.T. has focused on in this production. "I think our goal as actors in this play was to establish chemistry early and the chemistry everybody has, and not just Felix and Oscar, but the poker players and the two sisters who live in the building, the chemistry we have off stage and on stage really translates and it's really helped the show. As a result, the show is a lot of fun," he said. The show runs Feb. 7-9 and Feb. 13-16 with shows at 8 p.m. There is a Sunday, Feb. 10 showing at 2 p.m. Evening show tickets cost $28 and the matinee costs $20. The theatre is located at 130 Navy St. For tickets, visit www.oakvillecentre.ca. Learn about what arts council can do for you If you are an Oakville Arts Council member, but aren't quite sure how that can help you, the organization wants to help you understand. The arts council is holding a Maximizing your Benefits workshop, where it will discuss its membership benefits, explain its services, how to use them and answer questions people may have. The workshop is on Sunday (Feb. 10) at its headquarters at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre. The workshop starts at 4:30 p.m. At the event, people will learn how to edit their profiles, add a business logo, create photo albums of their work or how to add an event to the organization's arts calendar. The workshop is for paying members. Admission is free, but participants must register at www.oakvillearts.com. Click on the Events tab to find the workshop link. Queen Elizabeth Park is located at 2302 Bridge Rd. The workshop will be inside the Digital Arts Lab.